TEACHERS, TRADING PLACES, TO GO DOWN UNDER

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, January 21, 1993                   TAG: 9301210437
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: N-2   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: LYNN A. COYLE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
TEACHERS, TRADING PLACES, TO GO DOWN UNDER
Last year Donna Tucker, the band director at Hidden Valley Junior High School, got a call from a friend of a friend who wanted to know if she was interested in trading jobs with a guy in Australia for a while. "I thought, `Right, buddy - I'm going to Australia for a year,' " she told a reporter.
Now she and her husband, Barry, who is band director at Cave Spring High School, are preparing to leave for Parrmatta, New South Wales, to do a six-month teacher exchange.
They'll be trading jobs, houses and cars with James Holbert and his family. Holbert will fill both of the Tuckers' positions and they will share his job at The King's School. Holbert's family also will take care of the Tuckers' cat, Splash.
Donna Tucker said she kept expecting the whole thing to fall apart. But the Roanoke County school system was very supportive in setting up what will be the county's first teacher exchange, the Tuckers said.
"Being new, that's not always the way thing's are in schools," Barry Tucker said. In recent years there's been a lot of emphasis on multicultural understanding in the schools, which may have contributed to the cooperative attitude, he said.
Teacher exchanges are much more common in Australia, where after 14 years of service teachers are given a long service leave. Holbert is a West Virginia native who went to Australia 20 years ago for a teacher exchange, met and fell in love with his current wife, and stayed there. His mother still lives in Fairmont, W.Va. Holbert and his two sons are dual citizens of Australia and the United States.
The King's School is a private boarding school in a suburb of Sydney. "I sort of have a `Dead Poet's Society' picture," said Donna Tucker. Holbert's sons will have to get used to wearing jeans and T-shirts to school instead of uniforms, she said. And her 4-year-old son, Adam, who will turn 5 soon after they arrive in Australia, will start kindergarten in February, which is the beginning of that country's school year.
The Holberts have visited the Tuckers and brought pictures of their home. Housing sounds like it will be about the same, said Donna Tucker, although in Australia they tend to have gardens rather than yards. During his visit, Holbert told the Tuckers that many Australians would be jealous of Americans because of the many gadgets and appliances most of them have.
"I'm a little worried about getting homesick," Donna Tucker said. She said she'll miss her mom the most but, "I think we'll miss Roanoke, period. We just enjoy living in Roanoke and I'm sure we are going to be ready to come home." Her parents, who live in Narrows, are planning to visit for a month and she hopes some friends will, too, Tucker said.
"I'm going to miss following my Orioles," said Barry Tucker. He'll also miss his family, friends and "there's no question that I'm going to miss my students, especially the ones that are graduating."
Barry Tucker admits he was reluctant about making the exchange at first because he thought it was a big risk. Being band directors,"we're the ones responsible for our programs at both of our schools," he said. "To leave for a half year and wonder what you are going to come back to" is risky. So is having someone live in your house and drive your car, he said.
But after he thought about the idea some more, he realized it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. And if you don't take any risks, you lead a pretty dull life, he said.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB